What are the real estate inheritance procedures?

Hello. This is the real estate specialist attorney from Daeryun Law Firm.

For inheritance involving real estate, since it is not just a matter of transferring the title but legal real estate procedures, taxes, and family agreements are intertwined together, accurately understanding the order is important.

First, inheritance commences simultaneously with the death of the decedent (parents, etc.). Based on this point in time, inheritance procedures begin and proceed in stages.

The first thing to do is to accurately organize who the heirs are and what the inherited property is.

Heirs must decide which method to choose among simple acceptance, qualified acceptance, or inheritance renunciation within 3 months from the date they become aware of the inheritance commencement.

If there is only real estate, simple acceptance is usually chosen, but if debts are unclear or there are mortgage/guarantee issues with the real estate, whether to take qualified acceptance must be reviewed.

If there are multiple heirs, an agreement on how to divide the real estate is needed, which is called inheritance property division agreement, and when an agreement is reached, an inheritance property division agreement document is prepared, and this document is essential for subsequent real estate inheritance registration.

Once the division method is decided, real estate inheritance registration is conducted according to the content.

Inheritance registration is not mandatory, but without registration, sale and collateral establishment are impossible, and it can become a cause of future disputes. In particular, if the joint inheritance state is maintained for a long time, conflicts often grow during the share disposition or title arrangement process later.

In real estate inheritance procedures, tax issues are also very important.

-Inheritance tax: Reported and paid within 6 months from the date of death

-Acquisition tax: Taxed at the time of inheritance registration (non-taxation/reduction may be possible if certain conditions are met)

Tax amounts can vary greatly depending on the publicly notified price of the real estate, the number of heirs, and whether the spouse inherits, so prior tax review is needed.

As you asked, the case where "the mother wants to continue residing and the children want settlement" is a very common dispute type in practice.

In this case, if you do not consider the spouse's inheritance share, the possibility of contribution share/special profit claims, and future sale or residence rights issues together, it can lead to long-term disputes after inheritance.

Daeryun Law Firm's inheritance specialist attorneys collaborate with real estate specialist attorneys to design the entire procedure at once, from inheritance property organization to division agreement, registration, and dispute response, tailored to the client's situation.

If real estate inheritance procedures feel daunting, we recommend that you receive a consultation calmly about what to organize first at this stage.